I'm in search of a experienced mechanic or shop to install a VQ35DE into my 99 SE. I have read through the installer thread but cannot seem to located any postings by anyone in FL. Anyone interested and available to hire for this job? I was quoted $1600 for a re-manufactured 3.0 installed but I would like the additional hp of the 3.5. Thanks.

 

should've posted in the regional sub-forum

 

Sry about that can I move the thread somehow? Or should I delete it and repost?

 

I was able to find one shop searching the regional threads for "Installer". They quoted me $1400 labor for a 3.0 install and stressed the difficulty of installing the 3.5 and its not suggested for a extra 35 hp. I've noticed others on the forum mention much cheaper labor rates but none of which were in SOFL.
So I'm not really sure which path to take. The current engine took on water in a flood, it would not start after clearing the cylinders, gas tank and crank case of water. Was giving me a MAS code, I swapped the MAS and it idled great, drove decent... I felt some loss of power in comparison to performance prior to water damage. I even had a ASE cert mobile mechanic come check it out and he determined there was no major damage to the engine. The only code remaining was the knock sensor prior to actually driving it again. I drove to and from work about 10 miles both ways for about a week. Decided to clear the EGR as I been putting it off for some time. After doin the EGR tube she started up and I let it idle for 20 mins before driving. I checked my oil and tranny levels before going on a cruise around the block. I'm driving along and I hear Bang! clank clank clank and the engine cuts off, sounded like lifters smacking pistons possibly worse. Engine will not crank at all and I'm heart broken I love this car.
Anyone been through this that may have suggestions? Should I have the current 3.0 remanufactured, purchase a new 3.0 installed or get the 3.5 installed? This is my daily driver and only means of transport but I dont want to jump the gun and regret not upgrading to 3.5. My interior is near mint tan leather, my exterior is solid, I really dont want to loose this car but I dont have the time to do this job myself.

 

you need to buy a junkyard 3.0 and have that installed.

given what you just posted, a 3.5 is not for you. you can't just "put in" a 3.5 and most normal "shops" wouldn't dare touch that swap because it's not a simple thing to do. you have to change a bunch of stuff, there is no standardized procedure to do it, and frankly, most people who install 3.5s do a very poor job. labor for a proper 3.5 swap will be worlds more expensive than for a 3.0. probably double, maybe more.

given what you just posted, you should not touch a 3.5 with a 10 foot pole. Find a junkyard 3.0 for $500 or less at a junkyard, and pay to have a shop install that and drop this 3.5 idea.

 

Lokey, come out to the meet this Saturday. The guys that do 3.5 swaps in there sleep are always out there and can help you easily. Below is the link to the thread.

http://forums.maxima.org/southeast-u...th-2011-a.html

 

Thanks for the advice but I'm not sure why the 3.5 swap is not for me. I have read every thread I can find on this swap and there is nothing in them that tells me I'm not capable of doing it especially with the help of someone who has done it in the past. Are you saying the swap is not worth the hassle for the extra performance or that my lack of knowledge on the subject deems me unworthy of such a swap?

 

Synpa thanks for the link I will swing thru and ask around. Much appreciated!!!

 

You stated that it is your daily driver and your only means of transport. That alone is reason enough to not do a 3.5 swap. There are so many failed, half-assed, unreliable 3.5 swaps on this forum. I'd say that bad 3.5 swaps outnumber well executed and reliable 3.5 swaps on this forum 5 to 1.


Since you stated that you don't have time to do it yourself - you are going to be either a) relying on a shop to do it if you can even find one, and it's going to cost you way the hell more than just putting in a 3.0 or b) relying on a .org member (or other enthusiast) to do the swap for you. What recourse will you have if Joe Shmoe from down the way messes up your car? Who is going to make the myriad decisions that have to be made when doing a 3.5 swap? What are you going to do when Joe Shmoe chooses a method of doing something (the cam adapters for example) that ends up either being an inferior method, or a more expensive method? Are you willing to pay extra because someone else made a bad decision? What are you going to do when you have a problem in the engine bay in the future and a "normal" mechanic shop won't touch the car because it has a completely non-standard engine installation that may or may not have been hacked together? You going to send Joe Shmoe an email or a text and say "hey man, something is wrong with my car... you need to fix it because you did XXXX wrong when you installed it." What are you going to do if his TPS mounting bracket that he made out of sheet aluminum and bent it with a hammer and pliers gets messed up. What are you going to do when you find out he wired all your crap using the "twist and tape" method because he's getting paid peanuts to do it, where's his incentive to spend a few hours wiring things the right way when he can spend a few minutes doing it the wrong way to "get it on the road at least". What are you going to do when your car doesn't run quite right and you realize that the timing chain skipped a tooth when he was first cranking it up? What are you going to do when his janky-asz cam adapter has a dowel pin that fails?


Do you think Joe Shmoe is going to be willing to fix your car for you because he cut some corner 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years earlier?

Paying someone to do this sort of very involved, non standardized sort of modification is a recipe for disaster. Very rarely is a swap like this without problems or the need for further troubleshooting. Do you think Joe is going to take his entire weekend out of the goodness of his heart to troubleshoot your car for you if it starts giving you problems? Because a regular mechanic probably would not touch it.

If you cannot foresee these things - then it makes it all the more evident to me that such a swap is not for you. If you can do it yourself and do it correctly then it's a great swap to have - but this is in my opinion one of the things that you ONLY undertake if you have the ability (and time) to mess with it yourself. Having a 3rd party do something of this magnitude is a bad, bad idea 99% of the time. If you go through with this, hopefully you are in the 1% that has a good experience. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

 

+1, solid advice.

 

Thanks for putting this into perspective. I now understand what you meant and your are 100% correct. I can't risk this 3.5 swap going wrong and me being out of a car for any longer. Honestly I'm almost reluctant to have a local mechanic do the 3.0 swap after reading your reply. I don't trust anyone besides myself putting air in the tires let alone swapping a motor. Unfortunately I will lose my job if I miss anymore days so I will have to put my trust in someone and hope I don't get burned. At this point I have a quote of $1500 installed on a re-manufactured 3.0. You did mention junk yard is the way to go and I value your opinion as you obviously know what your talking about, but If I have the money for a re-manufactured, should I go for it? Another guy quoted me $1200 installed on a used 3.0 with 78,000 miles. Which would you run with in my situation?

 

VQ35s So much safistication. Make sure you check "The Experts" (its a shop) In Jensen beach or Speed and Truck World in Port Saint Lucie. if they dont have it let me know

 

I would purchase a junkyard engine with mileage like the one you listed at 78k miles. $1200 is a pretty good price for that (say $400 for the engine and $800 for install).

I have a hard time trusting remanufactured engines, especially ones that are that cheap. I'd rather have a $500 engine that was built by nissan years ago and has never needed to be opened up and was running nicely when the car was rear-ended and totaled, rather than an engine that god-knows-who rebuilt and for what reason? was it overheated to hell and the deck warped and HG blown? did they re-deck the thing properly (and not too much, because on a V config engine with a timing chain you will put the cam timing out of wack if you don't do it right) or did they just slap a new HG in it and give it a 3 month warranty and snicker while thinking "well it ought to last at least 4 or 5 months with that new HG in there before it's pissing coolant all over the place again - but it'll be out of warranty so it's not our problem."

VQs are NOT easy engines to work on, they are rather complicated and finnicky compared to a lot of engines out there. There are a lot of pitfalls that can cause problems either immediately or in the near future if you don't do things just right.

 

Ok, you make a lot of sense I appreciate you taking the time to explain the pro's and con's here. Before I jump into $1200 used 3.0 Im going to search a bit deeper for one with lower miles. I will update this thread once I'm back on the road, hopefully with positive results. Thanks Nealoc187!

 

Even though I'm an advocate of the 3.5 swap and we have alot of daily driven swaps down here, I actually agree with neal 100% here.

Just as Neal stated already, In my opinion, get a junkyard 3.0 from a car that was smashed. This just lets you know that the motor was in good running condition when it did get hit. This is the rule I always go by and it hasn't failed yet. On the other end of the spectrum, if you find a car in the junkyard that looks spotless, stay away from the drivetrain. Chances are that the vehicle is in there because of engine/transmission failure.

As far as the reliability of a 3.5 swap is concerned, it very well can be a reliable swap. Some of my closest friends down here all have 3.5 swaps in their maximas that have been daily driven for years and beaten to **** and just wont give up. But again, on the same token, I've seen some that don't make it a mile down the block before it goes kaboom.

Now that all that is out of the way, I'm in west palm beach and my buddies and I can do either swap for you. You have to supply the parts though so we will not be responsible if something happens to fail such as Neal stated already. If you want the 3.5 swap done, it WILL have check engine codes, but will run like it should. (EGR, IACV, etc. unless you supply the proper adapters to re-use such items) Since we don't have emission's testing in FL, the check engine light is the least of our worries.

Cliff notes: I recomend that you get a junkyard 3.0 put in. If you want insurance, let a shop do it. If you want a lower instal cost, me and a friend can do it in the West Palm Beach area.

 

Nealoc is definitely right about some people who do half *** work, but that's why you take into consideration what quality of work a person does prior to bringing the car to them. I have a 3.5 swapped maxima and it's my dd. The car has NEVER left me stranded anywhere (knock on wood). Ive driven the car about 6-7k miles already and haven't done a thing besides a starter which was on its way out already and oil changes. Its been solid reliability wise and puts the power down nicely when need be.

 

Hey man appreciate it. I been hunting engines all day focusing on VQ30DE but I'm also asking checking availability on VQ35DE's since you mentioned you and your buddies have done it successfully in the past. Both these engines are at every yard I've called and I've called a **it load. The quotes range from $700 to $1600 pulled. The lowest millage I found was a VQ35DE, 59,000 miles, $1600, out of a 03 Max SE. The cheapest I found is a VQ30DE, 126,000 miles, $700. I'm also researching how to get the engine and car up to WPB in the event you and your buds do the install. I will say that 3.5 with 59k on it keeps popping in my head, I know the price is up there, maybe I can negotiate. If I can find same or lower miles on a 3.0 I will jump on it. Can you PM or reply with and rough idea of install cost for each engine? This will help me determine my budget on the used engine, I also need to research the adapters you mentioned in case I decide to go with the 3.5 swap.

 

Appreciate the info, I am speaking with a few guys from the org closer to Ft Laudy and they are able to do the install. Found many options on used motors so its looking good. Thanks